However let's say you were right, i.e. that interest rates would rise and so the Short Sterling market would fall. In this case, you let the trade run until the expiry date and the market settles at 95.10.

Again your profit/loss is calculated by calculating the difference between the closing level (95.10) and the opening price (95.40).

Note – example taken from 2007. You can check the expiry date of a futures market once you log into the trading platform.

Where to Get Live Interest Rate Prices

If you want to access quick live market information then you could do worse than opening an account with a firm like Financial Spreads.

Also, you don't have to trade with them, if you just open an account (which is free to do) then their data is free. The catch? You'll get the odd email or letter from them. Having said that, as per the example chart below, you can see that their free charts are also useful.

If you do open an account with Financial Spreads, or any other spread betting firm, be careful though. Before you start trading remember that spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and you may lose more than your initial investment. Only speculate with money that you can afford to lose.

Interest Rate Spread Betting Charts

As mentioned above, you can get free STIRs charts with spread betting companies like FinancialSpreads.com.

You can alter the charts to see market data by the minute, by the hour, by the day, by the week etc. There are also many other settings to help you analyse the STIRS markets.

As you can see, the charts show how the markets are not perfect and how you can expect the prices to "gap".

FinancialSpreads also have another pretty handy tool, i.e. their free Demo account (mentioned above). You can open a Demo account and place risk-free test trades whilst you hone your financial spread betting skills.